Tangled Up in You
by Snuffleslover
Summary: Draco Malfoy along with the other survivors of the Battle of Hogwarts are trying to get on with their lives. Most of last years 7th year students have returned to Hogwarts to sit their NEWT's. Everything is slowly returning to normal until attacks and disappearances start to happen again. Draco finds friendship and possibly love where he never imagined. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"This is the beginning of the end," Draco thought to himself as he dodged some type of curse that was thrown his way. Draco sent a stunning spell at one of their many opponents. He didn't want to kill anyone. Sure, during his time as a death eater he had tortured people, something he was still coming to terms with and trying to make amends for, but he had never killed another person and did not want to start now.

Draco glanced around quickly before charging back into battle. He wasn't sure if he was on the winning side, there seemed to be a lot of casualties, but at least he knew he was on the right side this time. He was no longer a coward hiding behind his parents and their ridiculous beliefs. He winced as he felt a sting on his left shoulder. "Stupefy," he shouted as he turned and faced the masked figure behind him who had shot the curse. His opponent dodged it, but just barely. He easily blocked another curse the person shot his way.

He wondered who the person was. This person clearly did not want to kill him. None of the curses thrown at him were deadly, unlike the green sparks he saw flying around him. He quickly shouted "expelliarmus," and pocketed the person wand as soon as it flew to him. The person tried to flee, but he quickly stunned them. He walked over to the person and removed their mask. Pansy Parkinson. Draco shook his head feeling almost sorry for the girl. She just couldn't get over the blood supremacy nonsense that was indoctrinated into them since birth. He cast a spell and ropes bound her legs and arms together.

He turned away from Pansy and thought about _her_. Where was she? He hadn't seen her since they arrived at the battle. He hadn't heard her, but that wasn't surprising. You couldn't hear much with the sound of battle raging on. He shot a quick stunning spell at the figure Dean Thomas was dueling and they gave each other a curt nod before both heading back into the action to help their fellow comrades.

That's when he heard her scream. He had promised himself that she would never be hurt again, not if he could help it. He darted between bodies and broken glass pushing forward trying to find her. Whoever caused her pain would pay for it. He thought about his earlier sentiment, about not wanting to kill anyone, but didn't know if that would still ring true when he found the person who had harmed her.

"How had it come to this," he pondered "how do you go from detesting a person's very existence to not knowing how you can live without them?" When Draco finally made it through the throng of people and saw her his heart stopped in his chest. She was twitching on the ground about 20 meters away. Hermione. His eyes traveled to the man holding the wand pointed at her, he would recognize that blonde hair anywhere, it was his father, Lucius.


	2. All Aboard The Hogwarts Express

Chapter 1

All Aboard The Hogwarts Express

"Going to Azkaban might actually be better than returning to this shithole," Draco Malfoy thought sullenly. He could feel all eyes on him as he made his way down the train corridor. He spotted an empty compartment and slid inside, storing his trunk in the compartment above his head. Glancing out the window looking at all the teary eyed, but smiling faces of various student's families he felt strangely empty. Draco's own mother was out there somewhere. She had insisted on escorting him to the train even though he firmly told her multiple times he wished she would not. His mother, Narcissa Malfoy, had been hovering over him a lot lately since his father was sent to Azkaban.

Lucious Malfoy was one of the many death eaters who couldn't talk their way out of an Azkaban sentence. After Potter had defeated Voldemort all the death eaters that had lived were forced to stand trial. Voldemort. Just thinking the name felt so strange, but he was gone so there was no reason to fear the name any longer. Most of the death eaters tried to come up with excuses as to why they had done what they did, but others stood by their beliefs and declared when Voldemort came back, as some believed he was not truly defeated, they would do it all over again, Lucious was part of the former group. He had declared he was under the imperius curse believing this would get him off the hook as it had with Voldemort's first downfall. The Wizengmont saw through his excuses and sentenced him to 50 years in Azkaban. Draco was still coming to terms with his father's sentence. His father might have been a cruel man, but Draco did not think he had been a terrible father or husband.

As he sat waiting for the train to depart he contemplated his own trial. He was summoned to the ministry with his mother where they were relentlessly questioned about their loyalties. He thought it strange they questioned them separately from his father, but later learned Potter had put in a good word for both he and his mother. During the trial, he learned that his mother had lied to Voldemort, one of the greatest legilimens in wizarding history, saving Harry Potter. She of course failed to mention one of the only reasons she did this was so Potter could reassure her of Draco's safety. She was granted full pardon and begged her only son be granted the same. She argued he was just a child, but it fell on deaf ears. The Wizengmont had argued back that many others his age, and even younger had fought Voldemort. Much to his surprise it was none other than potters mudblood Granger who had offered a solution that not only appeased the Wizengmont, but thrilled his mother. She suggested he would be on a sort of probation and would return to Hogwarts to finish his education and to sit his NEWT's. He knew he should feel grateful he wouldn't be spending his years in the wizarding prison, but couldn't force himself to feel anything but disgust towards the mudblood.

He ignored the openly glaring eyes of his fellow schoolmates as they passed by his compartment. When a plucky 6th year Hufflepuff stopped to point him out to a friend Draco casually pulled his wand out of his robe. The Hufflepuff and his companion scurried away. Draco smirked to himself. He knew he couldn't hex anyone, but they didn't know that. Maybe this year wouldn't be so bad after all.

He heard the compartment door slide open and glanced as Blaise Zambini and Theodore Nott took their places across from him in the compartment. Zambini had always been a bit on the quiet side, never really speaking unless spoken to. His family had stayed out of the battle, not picking a side. Nott on the other hand was the opposite of Zambini. His father was in Voldemort's inner circle along with Draco's own father so they had grown up together. "Malfoy," nodded Nott as he made himself comfortable. Zambini said nothing. Draco opened his mouth to speak, but before he could do so was interrupted by the compartment door sliding open again.

Pansy Parkinson confidently strode through the door and immediately threw herself down beside Draco. He let out an annoyed huff, but said nothing, When Draco was younger he enjoyed the witch's attention, but now he found it quite bothersome. This was especially true when he was planning a quiet train ride alone. Millicent Bulstrode, Tracey Davis, and Daphne Greengrass all filed in behind her taking their places. "Crabbe and Goyle seem to be the only ones missing," Draco thought almost longingly. No, they weren't the brightest, but they were at least loyal to him. He did not like to think of Crabbe's death and had not seen Goyle but once over the summer.

Draco scooted as far away from Parkinson as he could and got lost in his own thoughts, drowning out the noise around him. Surprisingly the owl that brought his Hogwarts letter had also brought a prefect badge. Draco hadn't even considered the thought he would still be prefect. He was sure it was McGonagall's way of keeping an eye on him. The old witch was sharp, he would give her that. He would have to exit the compartment soon enough for the prefects meeting. He was not looking forward to all the stares. Little did Draco know that further down the train the bushy haired mudblood Hermione Granger was having similar thoughts.

Being part of the golden trio Hermione had gotten used to stares, but she couldn't remember the stares aver being this bad. Most people were awestruck in her presence, staring reverently as if she was some type of goddess. All the attention made her uncomfortable. She was a know it all in class, yes, but that was the only situation where she had ever been comfortable with all eyes on her.

This year was going to be completely different. In previous years she had her two best friends Ron Weasley and Harry Potter by her side, but instead of coming back to Hogwarts they had decided to accept the invitation that had been bestowed upon the three of them to head straight into auror training. Hermione was honored to have been offered the position, but had declined. She wasn't sure she wanted to be an auror. "Spending the better part of your childhood helping the boy who lived defeat the darkest wizard of their time might lead you to want to do something different with your life," she thought with a small smile.

Hermione sat quietly in the corner with a book on her lap. She was in a compartment with Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley, and Luna Lovegood, Hermione was made had girl this year, which was no surprise. Ginny stood up to close the curtain on the compartment door, shielding them from curious onlookers.

Hermione sighed and opened her book attempting to drown out the noise of the outside world. It had been a hectic last couple months. She had been staying with Harry at Grimauld place. He didn't want to be there alone and she had no place to go. It just worked. She had been trying and failing to find a way to bring her parents memories back. It was safe now and all she wanted to do was embrace her parents and never let go. Everyone left the battle with some kind of scars, whether it be physical or emotional. Some, like Hermione, bore both. She still had nightmares on occasion and would have anxiety attacks. She tried to hide these and was successful for the most part.

While Hermione would miss her two best friends dearly this year she felt a sense of relief Ron would not be returning. They had tried dating briefly this last summer, but it had fizzled out. They just weren't compatible as a couple, they both wanted different things. The breakup was mutual and amicable. They remained friends, but things had been a little awkward since then. She hoped things would get back to normal soon and that the distance would help. The three friends promised each other they would owl frequently.

Hermione closed her book and rose from her seat. "I'm going to head to the prefects compartment up front," she said evenly. "Try not to get into too much trouble while I'm gone!" The other occupants of the compartment bid her goodbye and went back to gossiping about who the next Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher would be. She quietly headed to the front of the train muttering hellos to all the people greeting her on her way.

She was the first person to arrive, which is what she was hoping for. She made herself comfortable and waited to be joined by the head boy and prefects. She sat up straighter in her seat when she heard the compartment door open. It was one of the last people she'd want to see, and definitely the last person she would want to be alone in the compartment with.

"Malfoy," she coldly acknowledged the blonde headed boy who sat as far away from her as possible.

Author's Note:

Hi there and welcome to my story. I apologize for the lame summary, I've never been good at them. This story will focus on Dramione, but you will of course see other characters and pairings. It will start a little slow, but I ask that you bear with me. It is rated M for later chapters. I still need a beta so please let me know if you're interested! I haven't written a fanfic in years so please let me know what you think. Also, I love to read so let me know if you have a fic you want me to check out. Happy Reading! :)


	3. Prefects Meeting and The Journey Back

Chapter 2

Prefects Meeting and The Journey Back

Draco fixed a sneer on his face. "Of course know it all Granger would come back to finish her education and of course she would be head girl. Just my luck," Draco thought darkly. Draco took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He knew he had to keep his temper in check. The Wizengmont had warned him that if there was any indication that he had returned to his dark ways he would be charged and sentenced accordingly. As much as he didn't want to be on his way back to Hogwarts, he knew he didn't want to be carted off to Azkaban.

"Granger," he muttered and took the furthest seat away from her. They both hoped the other prefects and head boy would show up soon.

The prefects, shooting weary looks at Draco and awed looks at Hermione, slowly filed inside along with the head boy. It was a tight fit due to the extra bodies returning for their technically eighth year at Hogwarts. Hermione glanced around the compartment at all the familiar faces and her eyes lingered on Malfoy. "What was McGonagall thinking, making him prefect" Hermione silently wondered. Draco chose that moment to look up and met her glance. In the few seconds it took him to place that all too familiar pompous look on his face Hermione saw something she never thought she would see on a Malfoy. Vulnerability.

Hermione didn't have long to dwell on this as Ernie Macmillan stood and cleared his throat. She wasn't at all surprised to see he was head boy. He was a good student and deserved it. She stood as well not feeling quite ready to address her peers. Ernie looked to her, clearly expecting her to take the lead. In a past life Hermione would relish this. This was one of her dreams, becoming head girl, proving that just even though she muggle born she was just as deserving and just as capable as a pureblood. Hermione felt like she spent much of her time in the wizarding world trying to justify she belonged there. She was tired of it. She was just so tired.

Hermione plastered a well-rehearsed smile on her face and started, "Welcome all, and congratulations to all the new prefects. This meeting is just to discuss our duties and responsibilities, and also to set up the first couple weeks rounds rotation. Ernie, maybe you should start with discussing the responsibilities?"

"Right," Ernie began, "This will be new to some of you and a refresher for other." Draco sighed and tuned the annoying Hufflepuff out, and glanced at the window. He really didn't care what Macmillan had to say. He was here to attend his classes and sit his NEWT's. Nothing more, nothing less. He could care less that this tosser or the mudblood were made heads and was bothered McGonagall had made him prefect. "Couldn't the old witch find a better way to keep tabs on me?" he pondered.

"But I don't want to be pared with the death eater," a small brunette Ravenclaw whined. There were murmurs of agreement throughout the compartment.

This caught Draco's attention. He knew they were speaking about him as he was the only death eater attending Hogwarts. The thought of the others being uncomfortable around him made him smirk. He liked having this power over them, he was a Malfoy after all.

"I don't much fancy patrolling with you either, Clearwater." Draco spat. He had no trouble putting a look of disdain on his face glancing around at everyone in the compartment. He was better than them. He knew this and it was about time they remembered it. His family might have been shamed by his father's arrest and the trials, but he would never let anyone talk down to him. Malfoy's were one of the oldest wizarding families and it was about time people gave him the respect he deserved.

Not everyone met Draco's eyes, but the ones that did looked at him with a mixture of fear and hate. This of course didn't bother him one bit. He sat back and smirked.

"I'll do it," Hermione sighed. "It'll be easier for me to keep an eye on him that way," she silently thought.

Draco's smirk slowly faded when he heard this. He didn't think he could stomach spending that much time with the mudblood and didn't know if he would be able to resist hexing her if she did something to piss him off. "There's no if," he thought, "the bloody know-it-all is always insufferable."

Draco began to protest this when Ernie nodded and responded with "Well that settles it then. Everyone remember your patrol times and see you all at the castle."

All the students began to exit and scatter about the train leaving just Draco, Ernie, and Hermione. Ernie embraced Hermione to her surprise. She was not used to this sudden display of affection as she had barely spoken to the head boy outside of classes.

"I'm glad you're back, Hermione" he pleasantly said, "I just wanted to let you know that you didn't have to volunteer to do rounds with _him_ and to let me know if you ever have any problems." He gave Draco a pointed look.

Draco laughed out loud at the thought of Ernie trying to duel him. He didn't think much of the Hufflepuff. "Even the mudblood has better aim than you, Macmillan. Run along now, you and your mudblood girlfriend can talk later."

In an instant Ernie's wand was out and pointed at Draco, "Don't call her that. She deserves to be here more than your murderous self does."

Hermione had never heard a harsh word come out of Ernie's mouth and was shocked at his defending her against Malfoy. She knew she needed to shut this down before it turned ugly. As kind of it was of Ernie to stick up for her she knew Malfoy could take him down easily. Malfoy fought dirty and Ernie would never see it coming.

"Ernie," she said calmly, placing her hand on his shoulder, "Don't let him get to you. Besides, Malfoy has to be on his best behavior or he will be sent to Azkaban." She said this to reassure Ernie and to remind Malfoy. "I'm not afraid of him, and he should know that by now." Hermione did her best to look confident while saying this.

"Fine, just let me know if he gives you any trouble," he responded, glancing at them one more time before he exited the compartment.

Hermione and Draco glared silently at one another for a few moments. They were on first patrol. It was there job to make sure everyone was following the rules and to ensure everyone changed into their robes before they arrived in Hogsmeade.

Hermione knew she would have to be the mature one and as much as she hated it extended her hand.

"Malfoy, I know you are just as unhappy about this situation as I am, but it's not going to do us any good insulting each other. Can we just call a truce? I dislike you and you dislike me, but can the antagonizing just stop?"

"You don't actually think I'll touch you, Granger, I wouldn't want my hands to get dirty." He responded and headed to the compartment door. "Let's get this over with."

Hermione groaned and turned to follow him. She knew she shouldn't be surprised. She didn't expect him to be pleasant, but hoped they could at least agree to hate each other silently. It would have made the whole year a lot easier. "When is my life ever easy though," she thought to herself as she looked down at her left arm.

The scar Bellatrix had left when she had carved mudblood on Hermione's arm had never quite properly healed. She had tried salves and potions, but nothing worked. She hated it, but it also was a reminder of what she endured. What she survived. She tried to remember all of this whenever she would wake up shaking and crying from a nightmare, or when she would suddenly feel the dread of an anxiety attack coming on.

Hermione knew she might be a bad person for thinking it, but she didn't think she could ever forgive Draco for what he or his family had done. She knew she should, which is why she came to his defense at his sentencing, but still felt hatred towards him. Harry had told her and everyone about Narcissa lying to Voldemort, but that still didn't redeem the family in her eyes.

She followed him out of the compartment and secretly felt relief that she was following him and not the other way around. She knew she could never trust him behind her back.

Malfoy walked with his head held high, incredulous to the fact that that he would have to work with the Mudblood. It would be miserable enough seeing her in classes and now he would have to see her outside of classes. He detested McGonagall for forcing this on him.

"Since when did you and Macmillan start dating? Was the weasel not good enough for you? Macmillan isn't much of a man, but at least his family isn't as poor as the weasel's." Draco taunted.

"Shove off Malfoy," Hermione retorted with her arms crossed, a severe look on her face. She was not happy she would have to deal with his mouth all year.

"Sore spot, Granger?" Draco smirked. He knew he could goad her. He had a talent of knowing just which buttons to push. He turned from her and walked forward, knowing she was silently fuming behind him.

They silently patrolled the train looking for any rulebreakers, lost in their own thoughts. Hermione was glad there weren't any because she didn't want to have to deal with any altercations. Draco on the other hand was disappointed because he could have really used a distraction from his thoughts. He also thought yelling at some stupid third years would help get some of his frustration out.

Draco was relieved when the mudblood left him to go check with the conductor about when they would be arriving. He felt suffocated by her presence.

Hermione slowly walked to the front of the train. She was glad to be away from Malfoy. She felt like she could breathe again. She missed Ron and Harry. This wasn't her first train ride without them, but she could really use some familiarity. The conductor cheerfully announced to Hermione they would be arriving within the next half hour. She felt relief.

Hermione found Draco and informed him they would be arriving shortly. They went around to each compartment and advised everyone to change into their robes. Well, Hermione spoke and Draco stood there silently. Hermione knew better than to think he would take his role seriously.

"Malfoy, we had better go change into our robes," she said in an even tone and turned to head back to her compartment.

Draco returned to his compartment slowly, not wanting to deal with his schoolmates, especially Pansy. He got back with just enough time to pull on his robes as he felt the train slow. He slowly filled with dread. The next few months would be hell. He was already counting down to the Christmas holidays when he could leave the awful place. He knew he should be helping ushering students to the carriages, but chose to get in one with Zambini and Nott instead.

He stopped to look at the thestrals and thought about the first death he had witnessed. He stared, lost in thought until Nott called his name. He mentally shook himself off and got into the carriage.

Hermione was in full head girl mode ensuring the first years all got to Hagrid and the remaining students made it to the carriages alright. Hermione spotted the blonde boy climb into the carriage and glared. She was going to have to speak to McGonagall. She had to know her reasoning behind making him a prefect. She knew he would just skirt his responsibilities like this.

Once all the students were safely in the carriages Hermione was lucky enough to score a carriage to herself. She loved her friends, but Ginny, Neville, and Luna could be a bit much sometimes. She embraced the alone time. Hermione looked up as the castle came into sight and was as awestruck as she was every year.

Even with everything that had happened, Hermione had never once regretted coming to Hogwarts. This was her home. She knew it would be a rough year, but was ready for it to begin.

Author's Note:

Hi guys! Sorry about the late update, don't want to bore you with the details of my crazy life. Thank you for all the reviews! What do you guys think so far? Another slow chapter, but a necessary one. Next update should be later this week. Still looking for a beta if anyone is interested!


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